Noll To Fight Loss In Gop Primary

She has till Tuesday to formally claim her rival's mate was among 35 ineligible votes in her 23-vote defeat.

General Assembly candidate Sheila Noll is contesting her loss in Saturday's Republican primary, mounting charges that her opponent's husband knowingly broke party rules to vote in the race.

According to official results, grassroots activist Brenda Pogge beat Noll by a tally of 847 to 824 to win the GOP nomination in the 96th District, which includes part of Newport News and parts of James City and York counties. A third candidate, Dick Jones, got 144 votes.

But the election was a "firehouse primary," with special rules designed to ensure that Democratic voters don't meddle in the race.

Those regulations barred people who had voted in the nominating process for another party after March 1, 2004 -- essentially banning voters who chose sides in the 2005 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor or the 2006 Democratic race when Jim Webb beat Harris Miller.

Pogge's husband, Roger, apparently voted in one of the races, and Noll's campaign said he was one of 35 voters who shouldn't have been allowed to cast ballots in James City County.

"If these allegations are true, I am shocked and disappointed that Pogge would have knowingly violated the election rules," Noll said in a release. "I am also gravely concerned about the 34 other disqualified voters that were allowed to vote in James City County, while the disqualified voters in York County were not allowed to vote -- they were turned away."

Pogge would not comment on whether her husband voted in the election. She said she hasn't officially heard the allegations so she didn't want to address them either.

"It was a hard-fought race. It was a close race and after several recounts, I was the winner," Pogge said. "All I do is focus on November."

The legislative district chairwoman for the Republican Party, Peyton White, said the rules shouldn't have allowed Roger Pogge to vote, but acknowledged that poll workers in James City were overwhelmed.

"I can imagine in the crunch that some people could have slipped through," White said.

There was some late wrangling over how the regulations would affect the other race on the ballot in James City, for the commonwealth's attorney post. A surprisingly high turnout and long lines also added to the confusion.

White said the Noll campaign has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to file its official challenge in writing.

White hasn't seen the paperwork yet, but when she does, she said she would contact the state Republican Party to find out how the results of the election are supposed to be reviewed.